Bilingual hardware and software Q&A
compiled by the editors
Bilingual Windows solutions
Q: I work primarily in English, but now find I need to use Japanese occasionally, so I'd appreciate some advice. Can I just install Japanese Windows alongside English Windows? Or even better, is there any way to enter Japanese in my documents directly from English Windows?A: Your questions seem simple, don't they? So why are the answers so complex? It's going to take this entire page to give even a cursory overview of this topic, and even then we'll have to refer you to several articles in back issues of Computing Japan.
You don't specify which version of Windows you're using, but that will determine the solutions available to you. Let's start with the easier option: Windows 3.1. If you're running under English-language DOS, then there are two solutions for entering and displaying kanji without using Japanese Windows: TwinBridge or Win/V.
TwinBridge Japanese Partner is a program that enables the user to input Japanese into English-language Windows applications. Loading as a menu bar across the bottom of the screen, it provides rudimentary kanji input capability and allows switching between English and Japanese fonts within a document. The program has some limitations, and you won't be able to run Japanese Windows applications, but for occasional Japanese input and display it is a viable solution. For a full review of TwinBridge, see page 47 in the March 1995 issue of Computing Japan.
If you want to run Japanese programs rather than just enter kanji into English documents, then your best option is Win/V. Developed by CF Computing and distributed by Fast River Systems, Win/V is a complete set of font and driver extensions that enable English Windows 3.1 to run Japanese Windows applications. Win/V has proven popular both with businesses that have an English-based network but need bilingual capability and with individuals who prefer not to wrestle full-time with Japanese-language menus. For more information about Win/V, see our January and February 1995 issues (pages 41 and 47, respectively), or check out the Fast River Systems home page at http://www.gol.com/winv/winvhome.html.
If you are comfortable working in a Japanese environment (with kanji menus), then installing both English and Japanese versions of Windows 3.1 is also an option. This is a straightforward procedure, with the only snag being that you'll need to be using DOS/V -- which is basically North American DOS with Japanese capabilities added -- to install and run Windows 3.1J.
For bilingual users, DOS/V has a command to switch between Japanese and English modes. While Japanese Windows 3.1 will not run in English mode, switching between the two Windows versions doesn't require rebooting. Just install the Japanese and English Windows in different directories (or, better, different partitions) and make sure the paths for each are correct (creating JWIN and EWIN batch files is an easy method to alter path settings). You then can easily exit from English Windows to DOS, switch from English mode to Japanese mode, and run Japanese Windows 3.1 -- and vice versa. One caution: using temporary instead of permanent swap files will save some setup headaches.
Those are the easy solutions. Then there's Windows 95, which, for bilingual users at least, represents a giant step backwards. Unfortunately, the current version of Win/V does not work with Windows 95. Nor are there any plans by the original maker to produce a Windows 95 version.
Neither can you easily install both Japanese and English versions of Windows 95 on the same computer -- and if you do, you'll have to reboot to switch between versions. For more on this theme, see "Ensuring Peaceful Coexistence" on page 25 in our December 1995 issue. (There apparently is a multiple-boot method/utility that will make the process easier but we don't have a copy of the program for testing yet. We hope to have more information in our April issue.)
The "official" Microsoft solution for doing bilingual computing is to use Japanese Windows 95 to run both your Japanese- and English-language applications. While this is a viable solution for those who are comfortable working full-time in a Japanese environment, it may not be the ideal solution for someone who wants to use Japanese only occasionally.
The other option for achieving bilingual capability when running English Windows 95 is to use it in conjunction with Windows 3.1 (either the Japanese version, or the English version plus Win/V). To enable this, when you install English Windows 95, do not overwrite your existing Windows directory. Instead, install to a new directory, such as one named WIN95. You'll have to reinstall your existing Windows applications, but that's something you probably should do anyway to ensure that all registry values are set correctly.
When English Windows 95 is installed in this manner, its Multiboot capability will automatically be set, and you'll be able to use the F8 or F4 function key while the "Starting Windows 95" message is displayed onscreen to access the Microsoft Windows 95 Startup Menu. Choose "Previous version of MS-DOS," and you'll boot in the DOS/Windows environment that existed before you installed Windows 95.
Note that you must reboot to switch between Windows 95 and Windows 3.1. If you try to load Win 95 while you're in your older DOS, you'll get a "This version of Windows does not run on MS-DOS 6.x or earlier" message. If you try to load Japanese Windows 3.1 from English Windows 95, you'll see "Japanese Windows cannot run on English mode. Try Japanese Mode." And choosing "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode" on the Windows 95 Shut Down menu won't work either, since none of the necessary Japanese drivers were installed during startup.
This doesn't fully answer your questions, but we hope it points you in the right direction.
